Oh, agree. Sorry, was just using one of the older boxy cars exaggeration.

A bit weird that they felt the need to plug the ugliest vehicle ever created

I think it is just that this the only boxy car in the public limelight. Calling it akin to a Scion xB probably would not have resonated with most folks.

We had a Tesla (Model S we bought used for cheap) before Elon went off the rails, and can confirm every bit of that info. Service was a nightmare. My partner had to tell the technician about an active seatbelt recall at one point. We once got an overdue parking ticket in the mail because the shop would just park on the street and not pay. Honestly other than that, the car was fantastic, but little did we know we just won the Tesla lottery and did not get a car with massive problems. After Elon started Elonning, my partner got sideswiped and that totaled the car. Miss the car, but do not miss explaining that we did not agree with anything Elon was doing or saying.

I think the model Y did as well.

Ah, got it. Could also be my migraine making me not fully get things.

I’m all for mass transit, but there are some jobs that require cars. My partner does home health, for example. She often has to take a lot of bulky durable medical equipment (DME) to a person’s home. Even if mass transit existed in all of her territory, transporting DME on it would be prohibative, especially when there are often multiple people that need different pieces of equipment.

It can’t anymore. Project 2025 will happen, and the guardrails have been removed. Welcome to totalitarianism

Ballotopedia has past years, but I haven’t seen any info for this year yet.

https://ballotpedia.org/Election_results,_2024:_Analysis_of_voter_turnout_in_the_2024_general_election

I’ve heard rumors of low turnout, but I suspect it is around 60% based on previous years.

Edit: WaPo says 65% this year. Can’t find anyone else reporting on it.

I don’t understand how 51% of Americans can think the “grab-her-by-the-pussy” con artist is the best choice for president.

They don’t, but due to a combination of voter disenfranchisement and apathy, voter turnout is usually around 50%-60% max. 2020 was a very large turnout at 66.8%. So 51% of 60% think he is. Still too many, but if we had a way to get every eligible voter a ballot, it would likely be different

In that vein the UK isn’t better. Colonialism and all that.

The only kind of excitement I see in their eyes when talking reading is when talking manga

I don’t think you meant that manga is bad, but there is a huge variety of manga, and a lot of it is really good. But even if they just read shonen, is that a problem? They are reading for fun. It should be celebrated

i still don’t want to talk about your teacher @Vodulas@beehaw.org 😜

That’s fair. I will say, it is also true in the US, and seems to be going down faster here. This is from 2021, but still

https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2021/11/12/among-many-u-s-children-reading-for-fun-has-become-less-common-federal-data-shows/

I think you are mistaking criticism for district mandated curricula for criticism of teachers. If anything, my comment was more critical of teachers, but also that was about teachers when I was in high school

So there can’t be educational graphic novels, short stories, TV, movies? Hell there is even educational content to be found on social media if you look

Also having teachers that understand the value of literature besides traditional early American/European authors. Those authors are boring (for me) for the most part. If your school district forces that particular genre, let the kids read Frankenstein or other early sci-fi and horror. For the love of all that is enjoyable, don’t force Hawthorne on anyone. Especially when they are, as a purely hypothetical, falling asleep while reading the book in class.

Sadly, no ranked choice here, so Kamala Harris on my official ballot. If I had ranked choice it would be:

1. Claudia de la Cruz

2. Cornell West

3. Kamala Harris

Sure, and there are plenty things to make fun of him for that don’t hurt other people. For example being a fucking creep or being a constant loser.

Ah yes, I am coddling Trump by saying this type of insult does nothing to him and only causes splash damage to others. Don’t mind all the things that you can validly criticize him for, like being a wannnabe nazi dictator, project 2025, his xenophobia, racism, or transphobia. Make fun of him for that stuff, not something that perpetuates shitty behavior

Toxic masculinity is bad when targetted at non-men, or non-masc-conforming men anyone.

FTFY

Who said I am bent out of shape? I am a bit annoyed, and pretty disappointed, but not angry. And yeah, you might succeed at making someone mad by making fun of their penis, but that isn’t productive, and does not make them rethink their own toxicity. All it does is tell them that this particular type of joke is OK since both sides are using it. So it can’t do any good, but can do harm.